Prospect Spotlight: Afamdi Achufusi (2021)
As a 6-foot-4 point guard, there aren’t many who can match the size of Afamdi Achufusi at his position. He uses this attribute to his advantage on both ends of the court, especially on offense.
“Say you hit a couple of threes and they take that away. You have to be able to score at all three levels,” Achufusi explained. “When I get a smaller guard, I just like to post up. I have a jump hook. I can use my frame to get to the rim.”
Yes, Achufusi is a big guard who can get his own, but he also likes to get my teammates involved.
“I think my passing is probably the most underrated part of my game. I like to create for others. Make my teammates better. I think thats something some people overlook,” he stated.
Achufusi’s older brother, Ike, is always in the gym helping him work on shooting. While he is a confident spot up shooter when he has time, one thing Achufusi says he needs to work on is catch and shoot. Getting his shot off quicker.
“Me and my brother, we always go to the gym. He’s always helping me with my mechanics,” said Achufusi.
With Sidwell losing 6 seniors who accounted for about 60% of their offense a year ago, defense is an area of focus for this year’s team. Achufusi is the best perimeter defender on the team and has embraced his role as a leader.
“It’ll take time for the scoring to come, but if we can defend, we can still be a great team and win,” he said. “My favorite player is LeBron. I can’t be LeBron, but he just does a little bit of everything. He’s a great leader. He likes to lead his team. So I try to model myself after him a little bit.”
With a relatively young team this year, expectations are low outside of the Sidwell camp this year, but Achufusi insists that his long-term goal is to win another championship.
“A lot of people think next year will be our year because we’re young, but I want to prove that we can get one this year,” he declared. “Short term, just get wins over the summer. Maybe get some looks for college. But really just as a team getting better, and me getting better on my own.”
Achufusi’s mentality is perhaps his most impressive quality. Despite the fact that no schools are recruiting him to this point, he doesn’t let that bother him and remains focused on the task at hand.
“I think that if I just keep playing, the offers will come. I think a lot of people get too caught up in that. You’ve just got to live. You’ve just got to play. There’s more important things and that will all come.”
Afamdi Achufusi is currently ranked by Prep Hoops as a top-15 prospect in his class. To view the full ranking of Maryland and DC’s 2021 class, click here.